5 Secrets Only the Best B2B Marketers Know

Do you ever feel like some marketers are out of your league? Like, they are batting homers while you're punting for your life? It's true: there are marketers who are head and shoulders above the rest. But the main thing that separates them and the rest is a few well-kept secrets. Well, that and probably a bigger budget, but for now we'll just focus on those secrets.

1. Customer Retention and Expansion is More Important Than Generating New Customers

The marketers on the lower tiers are always out to garner new leads. Convert those leads. Win new customers. But those on the top tier know that a bird in the hand is worth a gaggle of birds in those bushes. Put more time and effort into nurturing your existing customer base, upselling to those customers, and maximizing the per-customer ROI. Put a lower priority on winning new customers. That's what the big guys do.

2. Marketers Have to Nurse Relationships Throughout the Customer Lifecycle

Part of nurturing those customer relationships is providing those customers with stellar content and relevant, timely messages at all stages of the customer lifecycle. Do you have handy infographics for those who are just in the discovery phase? Is your blog chock-full of helpful information for those doing additional research? Have you got helpful YouTube videos and SlideShare presentations for customers who have bought your products and need some how-to info? For the top notch marketer, content doesn't stop with advertisements.

3. Your Internal Staff is as Important as Your External Messages

This is the dirty little marketing secret that nobody likes to talk about. It's Bob in the back corner, who's been in a bad mood for three years. It's Sally at the third desk from the copy machine who hasn't spoken kindly to anyone since her cat died in 1993. It's those bad apples that everyone just hopes will go away. Unfortunately, those sour folks are tarnishing your entire team. It's time to clean house and make sure those positions are filled with solid skills and superior attitudes. A team like that can get more done with fewer workers, anyway.

4. Don't Overlook the Potential Power of Remarketing

Remarketing is the retargeting of leads who have expressed an interest in your brand or products. Since they have already had some type of contact with your organization, they obviously have some sort of interest in your products. Remarketing doesn't always get its fair share of the marketing budget, but for those slam-dunk savvy marketers, it's a high priority.

5. The Data Silos Have to Go for Good (No, Really)

Doing away with data silos and making that data available across the organization doesn't just benefit marketing. It benefits the entire organization.

Is your organization still allowing finance or R&D or HR to hoard their data? For shame! Smart marketers know that there is no such thing as data that can't help the marketing department's efforts. Data silos are a thing of the past. Today's successful organizations are conglomerating all of that data for a more clear, accurate, comprehensive, robust picture of the customer, ideal leads, and how, when, and where to target potential customers to maximize the customer lifecycle and per-customer ROI.

ReachForce SmartForms helps marketers increase revenue contribution by solving some of their toughest data collection and management problems. We understand the challenges of results-driven marketers and provide solutions to make initiatives like landing pages better. Whether you have an acute pain to solve today or prefer to grow your capabilities over time, ReachForce SmartForms can help you improve your lead generation efforts at your own pace.